“Ares.”
I look over to see Augustus looking at his son. When he’s caught Ares’ attention, Augustus nods for him to join the conversation.
“Go,” I say. “I need to use the restroom.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead as he rises, and damn. The shock of electricity that races through me at the simple contact is almost embarrassing.
As Ares goes to talk politics and blood, I make my way through the room, passing between immortal vampires and the humans so desperate to be around them.
The bathroom is just as opulent as the rest of the eventspace. I struggle to use it in my incredible dress, but somehow manage. I wash my hands, looking at myself in the mirror.
Who is that woman looking back at me? It’s certainly not the bitter, half-starved woman I knew a few weeks ago. The woman looking back at me looks so confident. She has her shit together. She knows her place in the world, and it’s impressive, considering that’s as a human in a world full of vampires.
It’s kind of incredible, the influence others can have on you. Ares came into my life, and suddenly, I feel like a whole new person, even if I still feel entirely like me.
One person can come in and change your life so profoundly, it pushes you into evolution.
I dry my hands and step back out into the party.
Immediately, my eyes sweep the space for Ares. He’s standing beside his father still, deep in conversation with Cliff Morgan and two women I don’t recognize. Though, somehow, I can tell they’re also immortal. This looks like it might be a long conversation.
With a sigh, I turn, surveying the crowd.
It almost looks like it should be any regular rich person’s party. It’s all talk, jokes being told, the occasional dance. There are no fangs, no traces of blood, no one is lying dead in a corner with puncture marks in their necks.
Vampires are surprisingly… civil.
“And who might you belong to?”
My skin immediately crawls at the sound of the voice approaching. I turn to find a man who looks to be in his mid-thirties walking toward me. He holds a wine glass with suspiciously red liquid in it, his other hand tucked into the pocket of his trousers.
“I think you’ve mistaken me,” I say, my tone coming out cold and sharp. “I’m no dog. I don’tbelongto anyone.”
I turn to walk away, maneuvers running through my mind automatically, ones I would teach my students to use on assholes like this.
“A woman who holds her own,” he says, stepping after me. “A rarity in this world.”
“I doubt that,” I say, still walking across the room. “From my experience, only those who say shit like that hold that view. It’s a you problem, not a general blanket fault.”
“She’s spicy and strong,” he says with a chuckle.
A quick punch to the throat, that would probably stop him from spewing the terrible misogyny coming from his lips. Though, most likely, he’s a vampire. So… spiked heels to the testicles?
“But rude,” he says as I work my way around the outside edge of the room. I’d take him down right here, but damn, do I really want to cause a scene? “The least you could do is look me in the eye as you reject me.”
“Respect is earned,” I say as I step around a woman in the fluffiest ballgown I’ve ever seen. “And you blew that the first moment you spoke.”
“Come on now,” he says, and my heart rate picks up. “It’s all about the game. The pursuit. You realize vampires are predators, right? What do you think your evasiveness is doing to my instincts right now?”
Fuck.
My eyes flick around the room as I realize this might not be someone I can handle on my own. I’ve always been one to have the attitude that a woman needs to be able to save herself. I’vemade it my entire career. But this is no ordinary dick that is chasing after me.
Where is Ares? Or hell, even Sysco? Fuck, at this point, I think I might even try to get Augustus to help.
“Come on, sweetheart, at least give me the courtesy of one minute of conversation.”
A hand wraps around my wrist, pulling me to a jarring halt, flipping me around to face him.
